Approximately 50 veterans and Veterans Affairs healthcare providers in Eastern Oklahoma met Feb. 20 to discuss improving care quality at Muskogee, Okla.-based Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center, according to a Tahlequah Daily Press report.
Warren Goldstein, assistant director for health policy for the national headquarters of the American Legion, said the feedback at the meeting was more positive than at many similar discussions he's attended across the country.
"Here tonight, we didn't hear a lot of negativity about the quality of healthcare provided," Mr. Goldstein said.
Mr. Goldstein has conducted roughly 16 similar evaluation visits annually to VA medical centers nationwide. The evaluations aim to assess the quality and timeliness of VA healthcare.
Mark Morgan, executive director of the Muskogee-based Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System, brought staff members to hear concerns and have one-on-one visits with veterans who had issues with the medical center.
Although veterans' comments about the region's healthcare quality were mostly positive, Mr. Morgan said their patient experience scores are not where they want them to be. "That's disappointing to our staff, because we have a staff that is really committed to our veterans."
The Muskogee facility is working to improve wait times for veterans and make parking easier, Mr. Morgan said.